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I’m trying to wipe clean my hard drive (to sell) on iMac G5 Mountain Lion 10.5.8. When I start it up using Mac OS Recovery, it still opens with my login and custom wallpaper screen, and no Disk Utility comes up. Is this correct, and I can just open Disk Utility from here, or should it start up with a factory screen and the Disk Utility should come up?
I don't remember there being a "recovery mode" on the G5 iMacs.
Why don't you just boot it up from the install DVD that it came with and erase and re-install from there?
Good luck selling it. I can't imagine it has any value at all these days other than out of nostalgia...
I don't remember there being a "recovery mode" on the G5 iMacs.
Why don't you just boot it up from the install DVD that it came with and erase and re-install from there?
Good luck selling it. I can't imagine it has any value at all these days other than out of nostalgia...
G5's never had the ability to have a Recovery Mode. Please correctly identify your iMac's year by clicking the Apple symbol in the upper left of the display and clicking About this Mac. it will tell you the year, G5's were well before 2006 when the first Intel iMacs were released.
Once we have that information then we can assist.
It's not worth much, maybe $50 but we figure if someone can use it, that's better than recycling :) Thanks for the suggestion, I'll try booting from CD. Apple Support page likely assumes we're not trying to use the instructions on such old machines!
The other option...
Open System Preferences>Accounts, unlock the lock, click on the little plus icon, make a new admin account, log out & into the new account.
In the same pref pane highlight your old account, click the little minus icon, then use Disk Utility to Secure Erase Free Space.
Thanks for the info on recovery mode! The about mac screen has no date, other than the TM and copyright dates: 1983-2009. We did purchase it in March 2005. It's v. 10.5.8.
So is this method as secure (erases the disk as securely) as going through Disk Utility and doing a secure erase from there?
Thanks for the option. Is this method more or less secure than reformatting by using the install disks to erase?
Yes, it should be.
Wipe clean hard drive iMac G5 from Recovery mode
